Taking Over Me
by fraiser-jackson
Summary: *Chapter 5 up* Hermione's first day continues. Please read and review.
1. A New Assistant

Taking Over Me

nihongogirl2003

Summary:  Severus meets his new Potions assistant and sparks fly.  Literally.

Author's Note:  Hello all, and welcome to my first Harry Potter fic.  This is a Severus/Hermione fic, which only seems fitting because that's pretty much all I've been reading lately.  As this is my first HP fic, I would really appreciate any comments you have, but please, no flames.  What else?  Oh yeah.  I'm not British, so if someone would be so kind as to tell me whether I say something completely not British, it would be great.  Oh yes..and if this story bears any resemblance to one you have written or read, I'm sorry.  I'm quite new to HP fanfics and I haven't read all the S/Hr ones that are out there.  So, relax, enjoy and review.

Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine, they belong to J.K. Rowling.  However, any students that are mentioned that you don't recognize are mine.  The title isn't mine; I'm borrowing it from an Evanescence song.  

This takes place around 7 years after Ron, Harry and Hermione graduate Hogwarts.  Anything in _italics is a thought.  And now, on with the story.  And remember, review!_

Chapter 1:  The New Assistant

Severus Snape stood in front of his boiling cauldron, glaring at its contents.  Dumbledore had recently assigned him a new assistant—someone he would have to train to maybe take over his job.  As if he'd ever leave his position as Potion Master.  And what was worse-no one would tell him who his new assistant was.  Not Minerva and certainly not Albus himself.  All and all, he was becoming very angry.  It was affecting his teaching—he snapped more and more at his students, even his own Slytherins, who were usually exempt from his tirades.  The only hint (_if you could call it that) he had been given was the person's sex.  His new assistant would be female._

He knew she would be arriving later that night and he would learn her identity the next morning at breakfast, but he didn't want to wait.  He wanted to know who he was dealing with before he was forced to put up with her at breakfast—where Dumbledore would undoubtedly seat her next to him—and during classes.  Severus finished his potion, bottling it in order to give it to Poppy the next day, and decided to take a walk to his new assistant's rooms.  You know, just to see if needed any help getting settled in.  _Riiiight.  That's what he would tell her, anyway.  That is, if he was actually spotted.  _But the plan, you see, is to observe and not be seen._  His long strides took him quickly to where he wanted to go and he found himself in front of his assistant's wide-open door._

A shapely witch stood in the middle of the large room, her wand in hand.  She was magicking things around the room, putting them where she wanted them.  She was dressed in Muggle clothes—jeans and a tank top.  Severus was granted a nice view of her body as she bent over to pick something up.  He inadvertently took a small step forward and the floor let out a loud creak.  _Damn.  The witch quickly whirled around to face him, the wand in her hand emitting a flame of bright blue sparks.  Snape was instantly propelled backward several feet and he unceremoniously crashed into the wall._

Severus slowly shook his head and a hand appeared before his eyes.  "Ah, Professor Snape.  I figured I would be seeing you sooner or later.  But believe me when I say I wish it was later."  He stood on his own accord, ignoring the hand offered to him.  _There's something about that voice._  His eyes cleared and he stared in disbelief at the woman standing in front of him.  "Granger?"  She was his new assistant?  _What the hell is going on?_

"In the flesh," came her response.  Hermione returned to the center of the room and continued moving things around.  _Actually, I figured he wouldn't be able to wait until breakfast.  "Although, I suppose you can call me Hermione now.  I'm no longer your student."  She said all this without looking at him, instead concentrating on moving her things._

He watched as she continued to move her things.  "Why you?"  He just had to ask.  He had been under the impression that she hated his class, just like all her classmates.

She finally turned to face him after letting the question hang for a few minutes.  "Why not?  Besides flying, Potions was the only other thing that challenged me.  Everything else was too simple.  After Hogwarts, I continued to study and go to school and when it came time to decide what I wanted to do, it was an easy choice.  Does that answer your question, Professor Snape?  Or can I call you Severus?"

"No, you may not.  And no, it doesn't."  He didn't say anything else, just waited for her to continue her explanation.  

"What else do you want from me, Professor?  Although I thought you were an arrogant son of a bitch—" he started at this, but she ignored him "—I loved your class. Once I finished my potion, I would always help Neville so I could perfect correcting the messes he made.  You must remember that—you always took points off for it."

His mouth snapped closed when she finished.  _An arrogant son of a bitch?  Interesting, but I've heard worse._  "I just figured that was you being an annoying know-it-all."

She smiled.  "Well, that too."  She walked behind him and began pushing him toward the door.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish unpacking."  They reached the doorway and Hermione gave Severus a final push through it, closing the door behind him.  She performed a locking charm and went back to work.

A/N:  So, what do you think?  Please be kind and leave a review.  Also, this hasn't been beta'd of anything, so if anyone's interested in doing that for me, just let me know.  If you like the story, I should have the next chapter up soon—I have it written out, it just needs to be typed.


	2. A Talk with Albus

Taking Over Me

nihongogirl2003

Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine, they belong to J.K. Rowling.  However, any students mentioned that you don't recognize are mine.  The title isn't mine; I'm borrowing it from an Evanescence song.  

A/N:  Thanks to those you left reviews for me.  They are greatly appreciated.

Chapter 2:  A Talk with Albus

Snape strolled down the hallway toward the headmaster's office.  There was no way he was going to deal with Hermione Granger as his assistant.  It just wasn't going to happen.  He reached the entrance to Dumbledore's rooms, mumbled the password (Starburst) and arrived at the old man's office.  The headmaster didn't really seem surprised to see him.

"Something wrong, Severus?"  The headmaster's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles as he looked at Snape.  He motioned to the chair sitting in front of the desk and Severus sat down.

"Since you seem to know everything, I'm sure you already know this, but I'll say it anyway."  He looked pointedly at Dumbledore.

"Do go on, professor."  The headmaster's smile grew, which irked the man sitting before him.

"I met my new teaching assistant tonight."

"Oh really?"  The smile got bigger still.

"Oh, yes.  It seems that I am being punished for something I have apparently done."

"What makes you say that, Severus?"

_The smile on the old man's face is getting quite old.  And annoying.  _"I say this because my assistant is none other than Miss Hermione Granger.  So I assume that I have done something that displeased you, Albus."  He was interested in what the old man's explanation would be.

"On the contrary, professor.  You have been on you best behavior of late.  I have had several first-years coming to me complaining about awful Professor Snape."  His eyes sparkled.

Severus was confused.  "Then may I ask why I have been given Miss Granger as an assistant for the remainder of the year?  Surely there were more qualified applicants?"

"Someone more qualified than our own Hermione?  Even you must admit the absurdity of that statement.  And to answer your question, she was the only person who wanted to be assistant to Hogwarts' loveable Potions Master."  Dumbledore reached in a desk drawer and pulled out a box.  "Lemon drop?"

"No, thank you.  You're telling me that she was the only one who applied to work with me?"  This was unbelievable.  No one else had even applied?  Now he would surely be stuck with the know-it-all.

Albus sucked thoughtfully on his lemon drop before responding.  "Yes, Severus.  It appears you have quite the reputation around the wizarding world.  Hermione was the only one brave enough to put up with you."  _Must be the Gryffindor in her._

"Put up with me?  Well, that's just great, Albus.  Now I'm going to have to put up with her!"

"That is enough, Severus.  Hermione is now a grown up and you must treat her with respect, as I am sure she will you.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."  He went back to doing whatever it was he had been doing.

Snape walked slowly down to the dungeons.  He was going to have to spend the rest of the term with Granger.  He shuddered as the image of her bending over floated in his head.  He had been admiring her.  But that was before he knew who she was.  Now…well now, that was just a weird image.  She was his former student.  _Ah, but the key word here is former.  And Dumbledore was right—she was grown up. It wasn't like he could be accused of manipulating her because he was her teacher.  __Stop it!  You cannot do this.  Things will be strange enough; you don't need to make things worse by thinking things like that._

He finally reached his rooms and made his way into his bedroom.  He quickly changed and climbed into bed.  _Tomorrow will definitely be interesting. _


	3. Some Explanations

Taking Over Me

nihongogirl2003

Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine, they belong to J.K. Rowling.  However, any students mentioned that you don't recognize are mine.  The title isn't mine; I'm borrowing it from an Evanescence song.  

Chapter 3:  Some Explanations

After performing the locking charm, Hermione smiled to herself.  The look on Snape's face had been priceless.  She was going to enjoy this term as his assistant.  He had probably gone straight to Dumbledore to complain.  She walked to the bed and sat down.  Immediately, a ginger ball of fur was on her lap, begging to be pet.  Hermione complied, gently petting and scratching behind the cat's ears.  "I missed Hogwarts.  It's good to be back, isn't it Crookshanks?"  The cat purred in response.

It had been a long time since she had last been in the Hogwarts castle.  Seven years, to be exact.  She was 24 now.  Well, 25 if you factored in the year with the Time-Turner.  A lot had happened since graduation.  Voldemort had been defeated and killed.  There was no chance he could ever come back again.  It had taken an army of witches and wizards, herself and Professor Snape included.  With Voldemort gone, the Death Eaters were put in Azkaban, many of them receiving the Dementor's Kiss within days of their arrival—Lucius Malfoy included.  Sirius Black was commended for his help in bringing Voldemort down and was proven not guilty when Peter Pettigrew was captured by Arthur Weasley.

Taking down Voldemort had taken longer than anyone expected and she had been forced to postpone her further education for three years.  Finally she went back to school and graduated with honors.  Now, here she was, back at Hogwarts and about to student teach under Severus Snape.

She had to admit—he had always sort of been her favorite Hogwarts teacher.  Even though he was constantly showing favoritism and yelling at her for helping Neville.  There was something about the way he made her fight for approval.  He didn't just applaud her because she answered one question correctly when no one else could.  It made the class into a challenge and she loved challenges.  Perhaps that was why she had chosen to work under him and become a potions mistress.  Well, that and she had always found him somewhat attractive.  That helped.

Crookshanks had fallen asleep as she sat thinking and she gently moved him onto the bed so she could get up.  She transfigured her jeans and tank top into some pajamas, brushed her teeth and climbed into bed.  _Tomorrow will definitely be interesting._

A/N:  Sorry for the shortness….the next one will be longer, I promise!


	4. Breakfast and the First Years

Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine, they belong to J.K. Rowling.  However, any students mentioned that you don't recognize are mine.  The title isn't mine; I'm borrowing it from an Evanescence song.  

Chapter 4:  Breakfast and the First Years

When she woke up, she saw that it was late.  Breakfast was almost half over already.  _Great._  She quickly got out of bed, threw on some robes and ran to the Great Hall.  She entered through a side door and saw the only seat available was next to Snape.  _Perfect, just what I need to make the day even better._  Yes, she had chosen to work with him, but dealing with his sarcastic comments right now would not be good for her at the moment.  She went to the empty seat and sat down, food appearing on her plate.

"How nice of you to join us, Miss Granger," he drawled.

"Yes, well, since I am no longer a student, you can no longer deduct house points.  That must grieve you terribly."  She heard Dumbledore chuckle lightly from his seat at the center of the table.

Severus took a drink from his goblet before replying.  "As true as that may be, you are still technically studying under me and I can therefore give you some pretty nasty chores.  So, please be on your best behavior."  He gave her a half-smile (_well, as close to a smile as he can get, I suppose) and turned back to his meal._

"Severus, be nice to the lady.  It's her first day back to the halls of Hogwarts in seven years," Dumbledore said.  He was having fun listening to their conversation.

"Thank you, headmaster," Hermione said.

The headmaster smiled.  "You are quite welcome, but please call me Albus, Miss Granger."  Unbeknownst to the headmaster and the woman sitting next to him, Severus rolled his eyes.

"Only if you call me Hermione."  The old man nodded and Hermione smiled.

 Snape turned to the young woman sitting on his left.  "Can I assume that you are still friends with Potter and Weasley?"  He watched as her face fell.

"Not exactly, Professor.  Harry and I occasionally owl back and forth, but he usually forgets about me during the Quidditch season, which is really nothing new.  Ron and I haven't spoken for some time."  She saw the question on his face and continued.  "It is quite a long story, which I'm sure you don't really care about, so don't ask.  Ginny and I are still friends, but we hardly see each other.  She's usually with Harry when he has to go out of town."

Professor McGonagall perked up at this.  "Ginny and Harry are still together?"

"Oh yes.  They're engaged, in fact.  They just never seem to find the time to actually get married."  Albus and Minerva laughed, then returned to their own conversation.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Granger."  He checked the time.  "Now, if you're ready, breakfast is almost over and I'd like to beat the students to the classroom."  He stood and waited for her.

She stood and followed him out of the Great Hall and into the Dungeons.  They walked in silence down the halls, Hermione walking slightly behind the potions master.  Neither really knew how to start a conversation, so neither tried.  They reached the potions classroom and Snape undid the wards on the door.  She looked at him quizzically.  _He never used wards before, did he?_  He almost smiled at the puzzled look on her face.  "I learned my lesson after you three graduated.  I didn't really need anymore students stealing ingredients to make secret potions.  Especially Polyjuice Potion, with which one student accidentally turned into a partial cat."  He gave her sideways glance and motioned for her to enter in front of him.

Hermione stepped into her old classroom.  Nothing had changed in the seven years since she had been there, including the snarky professor that came with the room.  "You remember that, huh?" she asked.

"Of course, Miss Granger.  I do believe you had Minerva and Poppy out of their heads with worry.  Albus thought it quite funny you had taken after McGonagall, even if it was by mistake."  He walked to his desk and she followed.

She sat on top of the table across from his desk as he sat down.  "I'm sure you had quite a bit of fun with it, too.  'The little Gryffindor know-it-all has gone a turned herself into a cat.'"

"Not exactly.  I was impressed that a second-year knew about Polyjuice Potion, let alone was able to make it.  It obviously worked for Potter and Weasley.  You just had some problems with yours."

Hermione stared at hi across the desk.  _He was impressed with me?  And he never told me this when I was a student why? Oh right, because he's Snape._  She watched him shuffle the papers on his desk.

_Did I just compliment Granger?  In an off-hand way, yes.  What is wrong with me?_  He shuffled the parchments on his desk, not really for any reason, just to avoid looking at her most likely shocked face.  He could tell she was about to say something but then his Slytherin and Gryffindor first-years started to file in.  _Ah, relief.  Now I can get back to torturing my current students instead of my former one._  He stood and glanced down at her.  She was still sitting on the table.  "If you would be kind, Miss Granger, as to get off the desk?"  He pointed to a chair that sat next to his desk.  "You may sit there, if you would like."

She followed his suggestion and sat in the chair offered.  She watched as Snape turned to his class.  Some of them looked down right scared to be there.  Hermione smiled.  _Has it really been seven years since my last year at Hogwarts?  _

"Listen up," she heard him say.  Her mind was brought back to the present.  "The woman sitting up front in Miss Granger.  She will be the potions assistant for the remainder of the term.  She is quite accomplished in potion making, so if you have questions, you may ask her.  Today, you will be finishing the simple healing potions you started last class."  The class watched as he returned back to the desk, not moving.  Severus looked at them expectantly.  "Well, what are you waiting for?  Get to work," he snapped.

Hermione chuckled but stopped immediately upon seeing Severus glare at her.  _Wait a minute…he just complimented me again.  What is going on?  "Professor Snape?"  He didn't look up from the papers he was correcting, so she continued.  "Did someone, Professor Dumbledore perhaps, slip something into your pumpkin juice this morning?"_

"What are you talking about, Granger?"  He was getting annoyed, which was no real surprise considering who he was talking to.

"Well, you just seem to be in a better mood than I've seen you in before."  She bit her bottom lip nervously, waiting for him to blow up.

He continued grading.  "If you would refrain from commenting on my moods, it would be much appreciated, Miss Granger.  Now please check on the students, make sure they don't blow anything up and stop bugging me.  I have essays to grade."


	5. What's Next?

_A/N:  Thanks to everyone who has reviewed._

_Hmm, that went better than expected,_ she thought as she walked around the room, helping with the students' potions and making corrections if needed.  She occasionally glanced at the professor, who just continued to grade. Or so it seemed to her.  He was giving her occasional glances, like she had been him.  Of course, they were only to make sure she wasn't making a mess of things.  _Right, Severus, just keep telling yourself that._  The truth was, he was quite drawn to her and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her, only barely managing to get his gaze back on the papers in front of him before she saw him looking.

Class continued like that.  Snape sat and only got a couple of papers graded while Hermione walked around and got to know some of the students.  Halfway through class, all the potions were done and Severus took a break from _(not really)_ grading papers to grade the final products. 

He walked around the class, handing out points and taking them away.  He gave the most points to the Slytherins, of course, but did manage to give quite a few to a Gryffindor named Sarah, whose potion was the first to be finished correctly.  Severus sat back down as the students cleaned up.  Hermione sat next to him in the chair by the desk.  The bell chimed, the students filed out and they were left alone.  "What's next?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered as he moved the parchments into nice piles, organized by class.  "First years are my only class until after lunch on Mondays."  He relaxed into his chair.  "But if you would like something to do, I have some potions that Poppy needs replaced.  You could help me, I suppose."

"Sure," she said, with much more enthusiasm than Snape really needed.  She stood and was about to grab one of his extra cauldrons _(you know, in case someone decided to pull a Neville,_ she thought_) when she felt his hand on her arm.  She turned to face him._

"I don't usually do my own personal potion-making in my classroom."  He walked to a portrait of a bubbling cauldron.

"Oh."  She followed him to the portrait.  He whispered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Shakespeare' and the portrait swung open.  Hermione followed Severus into what she assumed to be his private rooms.  She was correct.  She found herself in a large living room, decorated in a deep navy blue.  _Hmm, not black._

He motioned her through a door that stood to the left of where they stood.  She obliged and was met with a large, beige room.  It was filled with ingredients and cauldrons of all different sizes.  "My own personal playground," he said from behind her.  _There's something different in his voice.  Is  it glee?  He stared at the woman in front of him, watching for her reaction as she looked around the room._

"It's amazing," she said as she met his eyes.  There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite describe as well.  They stared at each other for a few moments before Severus looked away and walked toward the small table that sat against the far wall.

"I've got a list of all the potions Poppy needs.  Why don't you pick some of the ones you're comfortable with and get to work?  I've got more than enough cauldrons and we've got a few hours before lunch."  He handed her the list of potions and waited for her to pick some to work on.

It took her awhile, but she finally settled on three that she knew well.  She handed the list back to him, indicated which she would be working on, then got to work gathering her ingredients and setting up her cauldrons.  Severus did the same, preparing the ones she had not chosen.


End file.
